CONTACT
Press:
Joseph Conn, Rob Boston, or Jeremy Leaming
202-466-3234 telephone
202-466-2587 fax
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=9u4L7o-UkQLfE-yLfny05g..
Americans United Blasts Religious Right Leader Dobson's Campaign To
Build Church-Based Political Machine
Monday, August 14, 2006
Drive To Politicize Evangelical Pulpits During Fall Elections
Jeopardizes Church Tax Exemptions, Warns AU'S Lynn
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=bosrhp8a0S-6LiF_PEWu9w..
Religious Right leader James Dobson's drive to build a
church-based political machine will jeopardize the tax exemption of
participating congregations, warns Americans United for Separation of
Church and State.
In a recent e-mail alert to supporters, Dobson's Focus on the
Family (FOF) said it will work with eight state affiliates to mobilize
evangelical Christian voters before the November elections. States
targeted include Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey,
Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee.
The Dobson campaign has all the trappings of a traditional political
machine. FOF's state affiliates plan to name coordinators for
each county who will supervise church coordinators in each evangelical
congregation. FOF's church coordinators will prod pastors to
speak about political issues, conduct voter-registration drives and
disseminate "voter guides and get-out-the-vote efforts."
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, says
houses of worship should reject Dobson's scheme.
"This is a blatant effort by Dobson to build a partisan
political machine based in churches," said Lynn. "He has
made it abundantly clear that electing Republicans is an integral part
of his agenda, and he doesn't mind risking the tax exemption of
churches in the process. Dobson wants to be a major political boss,
and this is his way to get there.
"Congregations should not fall prey to Dobson's shameless
partisan schemes," Lynn continued. "The Internal Revenue
Service has promised swift and sure enforcement of federal tax law
this year, and pastors should be aware of the danger to their
churches' tax exemption."
Lynn noted that the IRS has ramped up its efforts to ensure that
nonprofits, including houses of worship, abide by federal tax law,
which prohibits all nonprofits from endorsing or opposing candidates
for public office.
IRS Tax Commissioner Mark W. Everson has delivered two major speeches
this year putting nonprofits on notice that the agency has heightened
its scrutiny of their actions surrounding the 2006 elections.
Everson's speeches followed a report by the agency showing that
many of the nonprofits being investigated for violations during the
last election cycle are churches.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in
Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans
about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding
religious freedom.
I
.
|
